Winding apparatus



Aug. 6, 1963 R. F. HERR WINDING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 18,

INVENTOR. Pfc/mko E Hele/e Aitor/)gy United States Patent O M' 3,100,092 ING APPARATUS Richard F. Herr, Cortland, Ohio, assigner, by mesne assignments, to Rio Algom Mines Limited, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a corporation of Canada Filed Aug. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 834,560 Claims. (Cl. 242-158.4)

The present invention relates to coil winding apparatus and the principal object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus of such character.

The forming of coils by feeding tenuous material to a rotating arbor and by effecting relative movement between the material and the arbor in a direction axially of the latter in order to wind the material on the arbor in a particular pattern is not broadly new. Such relative movement has frequently been accomplished by meansi of a cam or a screw which directly effected the movement.

While such prior art arrangements were satisfactory for many light-duty, non-critical operations, they have not been entirely successful where the relative movement involves large forces, Where ready adjustment of the magnitude of relative movement is required, and where little or no compromise with theoretical cam profile is permis. sible.

The present invention provides coil winding apparatus having a cam which indirectly effects relative movement between the material to be coiled and the mandrel upon which the material is being wound and in a direction axially of the mandrel. Such cam, not being required to exert any appreciable force, may be made at relatively low cost of relatively soft material and its contour need not be compromised in the interest of cam longevity. Additionally, because of the novel manner in which the previously mentioned relative movement is effected, the material is not subjected to undesirable transverse stresses as it is being -fed to the mandrel. These and other advantages will readily become apparent from a study ofthe following description and from the drawings appended hereto.

In the drawing accompanying this specication and forming a part of this application there is shown, for purpose of illustration, an embodiment which the invention may assume, and in this drawing: 3

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of apparatus embodying the present invention, i

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatusseen in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but with 5 certain parts in another position, and

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating certain details of construction. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a coiler device havi g a rotatably mounted man- 5 drel, or drum, upon which tenuous material M is adapted to be wound. As herein disclosed, such material may issue from any suitable apparatus 11 such as a processing line or the like. In the present embodiment, material M is a relatively heavy, wire-like material generally square in cross-section which is to 'be wound upon the mandrel to provide a coil for a transformer; however, it is to be understood that such material may have a round or other cross-section and may be wound to coil form fori shipping or other purposes.

In any event, it is to be understood that the formation of as near perfect a coil as possible is highly desirable. This is so even if the material is being wound only for shipment, -because the more perfectly the coil is Wound, the less support will be required to insure retention of its shape. Thus, with certain coils, Ia shipping spool for 0 a completed coil may not be needed if the coil is wound nearly perfect; however, the same coil, if wound quite irn- 3,100,092 Patented Aug'. 6, 1963 perfectly, would require a shipping spool to retain the coil in its proper form. Moreover, the more perfectly a coil is wound, the more readily it may be unwound without tangling. As respects the winding of material into coils, which coils will subsequently be incorporated into electrical devices such as transformers or the like, the more perfectly the coil is wound the greater will be the efficiency of the device incorporating the coil. Tests have shown that an increase in eiiiciency of about ten percent may be expected when perfect, or nearly perfect, coils are employed. Such an increase, especially when dealing with large, expensive transformers or the like, represents a tremendous economic advantage.

With reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, the mandrel, or drum, 10 is secured to a shaft 12 rotatably supported by a -suitable housing 13. For a purpose to be seen, the mandrel preferably provides axially spaced, radially extending plates 14, 15 for conning therebetween the material being coiled upon the mandrel.

Housing 13 is mounted upon a table 16 which is slida-ble upon guides 17 in a direction axially of the mandrel. Although not shown, a suitable motor or the like may have driving connection with the shaft 12 to effect rota tion thereof and consequent rotation of the mandrel 10. Mounted upon housing 13, las by means of a suitable bracket, is a speed change device 18 of 'any well-known type having an input shaft 19 and an output shaft 20. A suitable control 21 is carried by the device 18 to vary the drive ratio between shafts 19, 20.

Device 18 is adapted to be driven by shaft 12; accordingly, a chain and sprocket assembly 22 is employed to connect input shaft 19 with shaft 12. Output shaft 20 of the device 18 has driving connection through a gear train 23 with a cam 24 which is rotatably supported on the table 16 by a bracket 25.

As best seen in FIGURE 2, cam 24 in the present embodiment is a plate cam having the familiar heart-shaped, uniform motion contour. As is well-known, this cam imparts to a follower a constant speed motion in both directions of follower movement. Such uniform m'otion is required in the present instance since it is necessary that the material being wound upon the mandrel be traversed uniformly back and forth across its face.

With reference once again vto FIGURE 1 and for a pur` pose to appear, the Working prole of cam 24 is conical; that is, a plane tangent to any portion of the cam periphery intersects the rotational axis of the cam rather than being parallel to such axis. Accordingly, axially spaced peripheral cam portions have different circumferential lengths. Thus, a cam follower engaged with the upper portion (in the position of parts viewed in FIGURE 1) of the cam face will be `shifted through a greater distance by the cam during rotation thereof than it would be were it engaged with the lower portion of the cam face.

Because of the nature of the present invention, it is possible to employ a cam' vfollower having virtually point contact with the cam `face but so lightly engaged therewith that wear will be practically non-existent. Such -a follower provides several advantages:

Firstly, it makes practical the use of a cam made of relatively soft material such as hard wood or plastic which can readily be replaced at low cost or readily modified if its contour is to be changed. Secondly, it makes possible the use of a cam having the precise, theoretical contour desired, it being unnecessary to compromise such contour in the interest of wear reduction, shock, or other practical considerations which normally exert a considerable iniluence on cam design.

Turning now to the specilic cam follower presently employed, the latter comprises an angular stylus 26, one end of which is lightly pressed against the working face of the cam by means of a spring or the like. The other end of ICC 3 such Vstylus 'isV alixed to the pivotally mounted shaft of a sensing device 27.

The sensing device presently employed is la commercially available device manufactured by The North American Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Ohio, and referred to in their bulletin 1-001 las a hydraulic relay. As viewed in FIGURE 4, device 27 has a pivotally mounted shaft 27.1 to which a stylus 26 is secured. A spring or the like 27.2 yieldably biases the stylus to engagement with the cam 24. Shaft 27.1 carries a nozzle 27.3 positioned within an internal chamber of the device and through which hydraulic lluid from a suitable pressure source is forced to impinge-on the closely adjoining open-1 ings of conduits 27.4, 27 .5 which lead to respective ends of a hydraulic cylinder 28. The piston rod 29 of such cylinder is connected to the table 16 to effect reciprocation thereof along the guides 17.

Briefly, operation of the sensing device 27 will be as follows: Hydraulic Huid under pressure will be continuwously discharged from the nozzle 27.3 to normally irnpinge equally upon the openings to conduits 27.4, 27.5.

Since the conduits will at this time transmit equal pressure to respective ends of cylinder 28, the latters piston, the attached piston rod 29, and the table 16 will be held immobilized. If now the above-described shaft 27 is rotated in either direction from its normal, centered position, the discharged iiuid will impinge more on one conduit opening than the other to thus cause a differential pressure at respective cylinder ends to effect piston movement and consequent table movement in one direction or 4the other depending upon the direction of rotation of the device shaft. Obviously, rotation of the device shaft in the opposite direction will effect the opposite movement of the cylinder piston and the table.

For a purpose later to appear and as best seen in FIG- URE 1, device 27 is carried by a pair of slide carriages 30, 31 which are lmounted upon a stand 32 (FIGURE 2) aixed to the licor or other surface upon which the entire apparatus is mounted. It is to be understood that slide Vcarriage 30 provides for adjustment of the device 27 in the direction of the arrows 33, 133 while slide carriage 31 provides for adjustment of the device 27 in the direction of the arrows 34, 134.

With the various parts positioned as seen in FIGURES i 1 and 2, operation will -be as follows: lSpeed change device 18 will be adjusted to lay the desired number of turns of material upon the mandrel in each layer wound thereon.

Carriage 30 will be adjusted in the direction of the arrows v 331, 133 to adjust the eiective stroke of the cam 24 in accordance with the axial spacing between the mandrel heads 14, 15. Carriage 31 will then be adjusted in the.

direction of the arrows 34, 134 to position the inside face of mandrel head 14 in alignment with the material `as it is discharged from the processing line 11 1as illustrated in FIGURES l and 2.

Assuming the end of the material to be secured to the mandrel in any well-known manner and assuming the sensing device to be supplied with pressurized hydraulic fluid, shaft 12 may then be rotated by its power source (not shown) in the direction indicated to wind the material `upon the mandrel. Upon rotation of shaft 12, cam' 24 will also commence to rotate, in the direction indicated, since such cam is driven from the shaft as previously described.

As the cam rotates in the direction of the arrow from Y the position seen in FIGURE 2 toward the position Vseen in FIGURE 3, it will displace the stylus 26 to the right andi thus pivot theA shaft of the sensing device to which it is attached. Upon pivoting of the sensing device shaft, the nozzle provided by the latter will direct a greater flow of pressurized fluid to one end of fluid cylinder 28 than to the other thus causing movement of its piston and con- V sequent movement of table 16 along its guides 17 from Y right to left in the position of parts viewed. Since cam 24 is alixed to table 16 for bodily shifting movement therewith, movement of the table will move the cam away from the stylus thus tending to return the latter, and the sensing device shaft to which it is attached, to their normally centered positions wherein the piston of the fluid cylinder is immobilized. The net result of the foregoing rotation of cam 24, 'displacementk of stylus 26 and shifting of table 16 by cylinder 28 is to cause the mandrel to steadily shift from the position seen in FIGURES l and 2 to the position seen in FIGURE 3 when the cam `has been rotated one hundred eighty degrees from its original position.

With the parts positioned as seen in FIGURE 3, it will be noted that one layer of material has been wound upon the mandrel between the heads 14, 15. Continued rotation of the mandrel and of the cam will cause the stylus 26 to move to the left (under the impetus of the spring or the like which urges it to engagement with the cam profile) since it is now engaged with the descending, rather than .the ascending, portion of the cam profile. Such movement of the stylus will rotate the sensing device shaft in the opposite direction from its centered position to thus direct fluid pressure to the Huid cylinder in the opposite manner from that before described to thus cause the table 16 and its associated parts to move from left to right to thus wind a second layer of material upon the mandrel. The foregoing operations will be continued until a suflicient number of layers of material have been wound upon the mandrel to provide a coil of the requisite diameter. At such time, rotation of shaft 12 will be arrested, the material extending from the coil will be cut, the coil will be removed from the mandrel, and the preceding operations will be repeated to wind another coil.

While at the presen-t time and to avoid stressing the material and thus, perhaps, damaging its electrical or other properties, it `is preferable to distribute the material longitudinally of the mandrel by effecting axial movement of the mandrel while the path of material movement remains lsubstantially unchanged, it will be apparent that the mandrel may be Yretained in axial iixed relation and the material engaged by a suitable guide which will be shifted axially of the mandrel to distribute the material therealong.

In view of the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have yaccomplished at least the principal object of my, invention and i-t will Valso be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiment herein described may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiment is illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim:

1. For use with apparatus wherein tenuous material is fed longitudinally to `a rotating mandrel extending transversely of the material and wherein such material is adapted to be wound upon the mandrel in a predetermined pattern to form a coil, the combination comprising a cam rotatable with the mandrel and providing `an elongated continuous cam surface of a predetermined width which is inclined, as respects the .cam axis, lfrom side-to-side whereby cam surface portions spaced axially yof said cam are of different peripheral lengths, means for varying the rela-tive movement between said cam and said follower to i return the latter to its normal position, said follower bcing adjustable from side-to-side of said cam surface for selective engagement with axially spaced portions thereof to provide for adjust-ment of the motion imparted to said follower by said rotating cam and thus provide for adjustment of the relative movement lbetween said material and said mandrel.

2. Apparatus for winding longitudinally moving tenuous material to -coil form, comprising a mandrel rotatable about an axis extending transversely of the direction of material movement, -a cam rotatable in timed relation with said mandrel, sensing means engaged with said earn and adapted to be displaced from a predetermined position upon cam rotation, and -force applying means responsive to the aforesaid displacement yof said sensing means yfor effecting relative reciprocatory movement between the material and said mandrel in ra direction axially of -the :latter to wind the material thereon in a predetermined pattern, said force applying means being connected to said cam and simultaneously effecting cam movement in a direction rto return said sensing means to its predetermined position to thus correlate said reciprocatory movement -With `cam rotation.

3. The construction Lof claim 2 'wherein said mandrel and said `cam are supported upon a carriage reciprocated by said `:force applying means,

4. rI`he construction of clainr l wherein said mandrel and said cam are mounted lon a base which is reciprocable in a direction axially of said mandrel and wherein said fluid -cylinder has `connection `with said base to effect reciprocation thereof in response to said fluid valve actuation.

5. For use with apparatus :wherein tenuous material is fed longitudinally to Ia rotating mandrel extending transversely of the material and wherein such material is adapted to be wound upon the mandrel in a predetermined pattern to form a coil, the :combination comprising -a cam rotatable with the mandrel and providing an elongated continuous cam surface of a predetermined width which is inclined, as respects the cam axis, from side-to-side whereby cam surface portions spaced axially of said cam are of different peripheral lengths, a follower engaged with said cam surface and adapted to be shifted from a normal position upon cam rotation, and means responsive to movement of said follower from its normal posi-tion and effecting relative movement between said material and said mandrel in a direction Iaxially of the latter upon ldisplacement of said follower from its normal position to thus properly position successive material convolutions longitudinally of said mandrel and `substantially simultaneously leifecting relative movement between said cam and said follower to return the latter to its normal position, said follower being adjustable from sideto-side of said cam surface in 4a path parallel to th-e direction of inclination of the latter lfor selective engagement with axially spaced cam surface portions to provide -forr adjustment of the motion imparted to said follower by said rotating cam vand thus provide [for adjustment of the rel-ative movement between said material and said mandrel.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,545,451 Pierson July 7, 1925 1,950,855 Lewis Mar. 13, `1934 1,973,328 Borg et al Sept. 11, 1934 2,137,081 Franke Nov. 15, 1938 2,647,698 Woolley Aug. 4, 1953 2,656,873 Stephens Oct. 27, 1953 2,669,333 Johnson Feb. 16, 1954 2,757,884 Bryant et al. Aug. 7, 1956 2,788,677 Haye Apr. 16, 1957 2,846,157 Stephens et -al Aug. 5, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 21,686 Great Britain of 1909 110,705 Austria Oct. 10, 1928 412,315 Italy Nov. 26, 1945 

1. FOR USE WITH APPARATUS WHEREIN TENUOUS MATERIAL IS FED LONGITUDINALLY TO A ROTATING MANDREL EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE MATERIAL AND WHEREIN SUCH MATERIAL IS ADAPTED TO BE WOUND UPON THE MANDREL IN A PREDETERMINED PATTERN TO FORM A COIL, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A CAM ROTATABLE WITH THE MANDREL AND PROVIDING AN ELONGATED CONTINUOUS CAM SURFACE OF A PREDETERMINED WIDTH WHICH IS INCLINED, AS RESPECTS THE CAM AXIS, FROM SIDE-TO-SIDE WHEREBY CAM SURFACE PORTIONS SPACED AXIALLY OF SAID CAM ARE OF DIFFERENT PERIPHERAL LENGTHS, MEANS FOR VARYING THE RELATIVE ROTATIONAL SPEEDS OF SAID CAM AND SAID MANDREL, A FOLLOWER ENGAGED WITH SAID CAM AND ADAPTED TO BE SHIFTED FROM A NORMAL POSITION UPON CAM ROTATION, A FLUID CONTROL VALVE ACTUATED BY MOVEMENT OF SAID FOLLOWER, AND A FLUID CYLINDER CONNECTED WITH SAID VALVE AND EFFECTING RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID MATERIAL AND SAID MANDREL IN A DIRECTION AXIALLY OF THE LATTER UPON DISPLACEMENT OF SAID FOLLOWER FROM ITS NORMAL POSITION TO THUS PROPERLY POSITION SUCCESSIVE MATERIAL CONVOLUTIONS LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID MANDREL AND SUBSTANTIALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY EFFECTING RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID CAM AND SAID FOLLOWER TO RETURN THE LATTER TO ITS NORMAL POSITION, SAID FOLLOWER BEING ADJUSTABLE FROM SIDE-TO-SIDE OF SAID CAM SURFACE FOR SELECTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH AXIALLY SPACED PORTIONS THEREOF TO PROVIDE FOR ADJUSTMENT OF THE MOTION IMPARTED TO SAID FOLLOWER BY SAID ROTATING CAM AND THUS PROVIDE FOR ADJUSTMENT OF THE RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID MATERIAL AND SAID MANDREL. 